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A few thoughts, observations and ramblings on the European Championship semi-final between reigning champion Spain and Portugal.

How Spain and Portugal reached the last four.

Both were drawn in difficult groups. Spain opened play in Group C with a come-from-behind draw with Italy. Round two brought an easy 4-0 win against the Republic of Ireland but Spain had to work extremely hard to overcome Croatia 1-0 and the finish top of the group.Quarter-final opponents France were soundly despatched 2-0 in the quarter finals.

Spain scorers before the semi-final were Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso Cesc Fabregas (2 each) and Jesus Navas and David Silva with one each.

Cesc Fabregas. (Image credit: AFP/Getty Images via @daylife)

Portugal's Championships got off to a losing start when Germany won 1-0. Round two proved crucial as Portugal faced a Denmark side that had upset the Netherlands in round one. Simply put a Portugal lose to Denmark would have almost certainly ended their interest in the competition.

Portugal jumped into a 2-0 lead but the Danes stormed back to tie the match at 2-2 with only minutes remaining. However, Portugal substitute Varela secured the win with a very late strike.

A final group game against the Netherlands meant a win for Portugal guaranteed a place in the last eight while a combination of other results meant a lesser outcome could still see Portugal through.

As it was Portugal beat the Netherlands 2-1 even after going behind early. Cristiano Ronaldo scored both goals and he followed his performance up with the only goal of the game that beat the Czech Republic 1-0 in the quarter finals.

The Line-Ups

Spain captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas earned his 136th cap for Spain and went in search of a century of wins. Both coaches opted to make a change in the striker position. In the case of Portugal it was an enforced change on account of an injury to Helder Postiga. In came Hugo Almeida to replace him.

Spain Coach Vicente del Bosque continued to frustrate those of us predicting who might start in "attack" by leaving both Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres on the bench and instead he gave the starting role to Sevilla's Alvaro Negredo.